Adrian Grenier was once one of the biggest heartthrobs in Hollywood. From the hit HBO series Entourage to the blockbuster romantic comedy The Devil Wears Prada, he was a fixture of the entertainment industry throughout much of the 21st century, after his breakthrough role in the '90s teen flick Drive Me Crazy. But after spending two decades working successfully as an actor, he left it all behind. Now, in a new rare interview, Adrian Grenier reveals what made him quit Hollywood and the surprising new job he's taken on since. Read on to find out more about where the former A-lister is now.
Adrian Grenier quit Hollywood a year ago.
Kathy Hutchins/ShutterstockIn a new interview with Austin Life for the magazine's June 2021 cover, Grenier said he left New York a year ago and made a permanent move to Texas, despite all of his Hollywood dreams coming true. "If you work hard, you become famous, then you make a lot of money... but it was lackluster at the top," he told Austin Life.
Grenier said he was tired of the long process of making movies and TV shows. "The work I used to do got created over time; you make something but you don't ever know if it will be good," he said. "Acting is a dissociative experience where you don't even know if you're doing it right—you need a director to tell you!" he said. "It's a mask-wearing process—you're not even you, you're just playing!"
Not only was the delayed gratification of acting no longer satisfying for Grenier, but he hinted he was battling some demons as well. While Grenier admitted "making it" in Hollywood was initially a "load of fun, and amazing while it lasted," he wound up "deep into [his] total abject debauchery." Grenier added: "I found myself in a stage of my life where I had to change. I had to deal with the personal things I'd been avoiding."
So, he "Marie Kondo'd" his life and "embraced letting go," which wasn't too difficult ultimately. "Certainly, there's lots of shiny memories that I crave, but I've done too much work not to recognize that I'm here for something bigger than going to nightclubs," he said.
He now lives and works on his farm outside of Austin.
City LifestyleTurns out, for Grenier, that "something bigger" is a farm in Bastrop, Texas. Grenier said he's been doing environmental work for the last 20 years through organizations and non-profits that were "all designed to tell people to live more in line with nature." "And yet," he added. "I wasn't living that way."
Grenier had bought a home in Austin five years ago and decided to relocate permanently last year, after spending most of his life in New York City. "I do feel totally at peace. My work on the farm is present, immediate, apparent," he said. "Just to be here, to be me, to be rooted, to feel the earth, to dig in the dirt... it's so grounding. I'd been stepping on concrete my whole life, separated from the earth. Here and now, I feel so much more centered and balanced."
Grenier also likes his fellow Austinites. "People [in Austin] are smart and successful but they don't flaunt it. There is nothing to prove, people accept you and it felt good right away. Plus, the great food," he added. "And the weather—I'd had enough of brutal winters."
Since relocating, Grenier got his permaculture certification and hopes to turn his farm into a wildlife sanctuary.
And Grenier made the move with the woman he loves.
Grenier isn't totally solo on his farm. He made the move with Jordan Roemmele, who shared his vision. "When I decided I wanted to settle in Texas, I knew I wanted a partner to live that experience with me, that's where Jordan comes in," he told Austin Life. "We have a long history and I said, 'I'm in love, and if you are too, I want to build something together.' Thankfully, she was interested."
After they "negotiated terms of the heart," they bought some land outside of Austin and the farm was born. Currently, Roemmele, who's been linked to Grenier since at least 2017, is also in school for acupuncture.
Grenier has no plans to return to acting.
So, does Grenier ever miss his formerly glamorous Hollywood life? Hardly. "I don't miss anything about that world," he told Austin Life plainly.
"If you go on Instagram long enough, you're going to find some FOMO somewhere, but everyone is just pretending they're living their best life. Ultimately, I know that I am, so I don't even tell anybody about it," he continued. "I want more now. I want different now. I'll leave those experiences for the youngsters."
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